| PD 2/99 Rev.2 (F) | |
| PREPARATORY STUDIES TO INSTALL A CONTINUOUS MONITORING SYSTEM FOR THE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF THAILAND'S FOREST RESOURCES | |
| XXVI | |
| XXVI | |
| OPERATIONAL | |
| THAILAND | |
| ROYAL FOREST DEPARTMENT | |
| 681034.00 | |
| 2000/1/25 | |
| The objective of this three-year project is to conduct preparatory activities to install an effective and efficient continuous forest resources monitoring system for Thailand. Project activities include: confirmation of monitoring objectives; review of existing inventory and monitoring programs; evaluation of sampling strategies; simulation studies and field pilot project to test proposed designs; recommendations for a monitoring system; and provision of technical support to Thailand staff to install the monitoring system. Project deliverables would include: a statement of monitoring objectives, a proposed monitoring system, and a project implementation plan to install the system countrywide. |
The kingdom of Thailand recognizes that sustainable development is not possible without sustainable forest management (SFM). Therefore, the kingdom attaches great importance to forests that are sustainably managed, with due care to the environment while providing economic, cultural, spiritual and social benefits to society. Using the ITTO framework, Thailand has defined its own set of Criteria and Indicators (C&I) to measure the country's progress toward SFM at the national level. There are seven criteria and 67 indicators.
Thailand has also recognized the need to create the necessary infrastructure to collect and collate change and trend data to report on these indicators. Data needed for the reporting of some of these indicators, specifically the biophysical indicators of the forest resource base, forest ecosystem health and condition, and biodiversity, could be obtained through a monitoring system. These data could be integrated with data from other sources (e.g. socio- economic surveys) for the full reporting of all the 67 indicators.
With the support of the ITTO Project PD 2/99 Rev. 2 (F), Thailand is conducting preparatory studies, including an operational pilot, for installing a national forest resources monitoring system (THAIFORM). The forest resources to monitor include both timber and non-timber forest products (NTFPs); these were identified in several workshops held across the country as part of this Project. This monitoring system will have a statistically valid sampling approach, a consistent methodology, and a set of re-locatable plots that can be observed over time. The current national forest inventories cannot provide consistent biophysical data over the entire country. They also lack non-timber values information, and cannot provide meaningful change and trend data.
The proposed THAIFORM system that is being pilot tested in the 175,156-ha Ngao Model Forest in the sub-tropical forest zone in northern Thailand is composed of three phases: Establish Monitoring Points, GIS Applications, and Ground Sampling.
Establish a fixed uniform 1.5 km x 1.5 km grid over the entire Model Forest, as a basis for sampling and monitoring. The Landsat-7 TM data were used to establish the grid. The grid intersections form the monitoring points, for establishing the baseline data and detecting changes over time. With this sampling intensity, each monitoring point represents approximately 225 ha.
Use a GIS system to describe the past and present conditions at all the monitoring points. These descriptions, including land use type, are based on satellite data and other sources such as traditional aerial photos, and ground data.
Install permanent plots in all the monitoring points. The permanent plots are 'hidden', but re- locatable, and burying a 50-cm metal pin fully into the ground marks the plot center. The GPS (global positioning system) and UTM coordinates are used to locate the plot and GPS and a metal detector are used to re-locate the plots. The ground sampling will provide information on current status and changes over time in vegetation biodiversity, tree growing stock, coarse woody debris (CWD), soil, impact of human activities and natural causes on site and vegetation, and wildlife habitat use. A total of 903 plots are to be installed in the pilot project area: 780 plots inside the Model Forest, and an additional 123 plots outside and along the Model Forest boundary. The permanent plots consist of a cluster of concentric fixed-area circular plots and line intercepts, all anchored at the grid intersection. Further details are provided in Project Technical Reports No 3 and 4.
The ground sampling data are entered into computer using a custom data entry tool written in Microsoft Access. It has built-in data validation rules. A summary program, also written in Microsoft Access, is used to compile the individual measurements into summary statistics. Documentation of the data entry and summary tool is given in the internal Project Technical Report No. 6. Summary monitoring statistics are produced for each grid intersection, or combined to provide summary statistics for the entire Model Forest or specific strata of interest. Thematic maps can also be produced for certain strata, e.g. NTFPs that cannot be easily detected on satellite data or traditional aerial photos, to show their approximate locations.
